Really? No-one commenting on tonights debate?

[Corranga]

I'm just catching up and just watched the Salmond/Darling debate tonight having been visiting relatives in Englandshire last night, and couldn't believe what I was watching.

No answer on a plan B for currency despite constant badgering, including from a voter who almost pleaded for an answer.
Salmond and Sturgeon repeating the "logical and desirable" quote over and over.
Talk of pointless alien invasions and driving on the right to try to make Better Together look foolish.
No clue on pensions what so ever.
Pushing to be the big man by repetitively asking Darling to answer a catch 22 question of no relevance on whether he things Scotland could succeed.
and constantly criticising Darling's actions as Chancellor - something with absolutely no relevance to Scotland's future what so ever
I personally can't believe anyone would vote for that man!

I liked Bernard Ponsonby though

On HS2, surely a faster rail link between the most heavily populated area at the south of the country, and anywhere north of that benefits everywhere north of that?
I mean, if it currently takes (made up figures..) 6 hours for a cargo train to go from London to Glasgow, and HS2 cuts London to Birmingham from 1 hour to 30 mins that's 30mins off the Glasgow journey too right? (or am I somehow missing the point..)

[campbell]

I have heard a few people saying they will move if yes wins, and I call every one out on it nobody will up sticks leave their jobs.

They will if their market contracts rapidly when rUK clients decide buying services from Scottish providers is too much trouble. Currency conversion, X-border tax treatments, "up yours" mentality, whatever.

[Mikie711]

I have heard a few people saying they will move if yes wins, and I call every one out on it nobody will up sticks leave their jobs.

They will if their market contracts rapidly when rUK clients decide buying services from Scottish providers is too much trouble. Currency conversion, X-border tax treatments, "up yours" mentality, whatever.

saying it a doing it are 2 entirely different things, I've heard this from both sides and a few haven't waited and have left already.

[RDH]

I have heard a few people saying they will move if yes wins, and I call every one out on it nobody will up sticks leave their jobs.

They will if their market contracts rapidly when rUK clients decide buying services from Scottish providers is too much trouble. Currency conversion, X-border tax treatments, "up yours" mentality, whatever.

Our company is in the process of buying a very large factory in Yorkshire, with the intention of moving all production and jobs, (200 in Glasgow) in the event of a yes vote.

Being on the senior finance team and responsible for all our 15 overseas subs, the currency thing is a much bigger issue than the Average Joe would believe.

By continuing with the pound and not having any control over interest rates and monetary policy is barking, if they go for plan C ( I don't think there is a plan B after the debate the other night) and use Groats and 'Ecks, or whatever, then the transactional costs to businesses would be massive.
Ever looked at your credit card bill after using it abroad?

As a business, we spend a vast amount of time and resource dealing with FX, and adding a minor currency to the mix is mental.

'Eck's threat to default on Scotland's share of the UK debt is insane and would make any borrowing Scotland needed to make virtually impossible due to the junk credit rating we'd have. And from the SNP plans, I think we'd need to borrow quite a considerable sum.

On another point, what happens to Helensburgh in the event of removing trident and the 6,000 jobs, it'd be a ghost town.

I could go on, and on, but after a couple of glasses of wine, I'll stop now.

But hey, that's the beauty of democracy, everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Cheers
Rob

[rossybee]

Watched ten minutes,

The there were some good audience points that the chair didn't let Salmond/Darling answer.

some good questions ignored to go for glory, I though that Darling was given a harder time by the presenter than fishy was (for the bit I saw anyway)
I have never been a fan of AD and thought he wasn't best choice but was surprised he did rather well, Salmond as usual came across as condescending. Nothing I saw or heard made me switch to a 'yes' and I would thing there wasn't much to sway the undecided towards Independence.

Pretty much sums up my view.

Salmond verged on childish at points.

[tut]

Good to see a reply like that Rob from somebody who is in the thick of it, it makes it much clear to someone like myself who would largely be unaffected by that side of it unless it it was passed on to higher prices at the till.

The CC aspect if it applied to business due to whatever currency Scotland ended up with, should give much food for thought.

tut

[campbell]

Rob,

Insight from an interesting position. I've made arrangements to bill my rUK clients in their local currency.

Intention is to take the risk out for them. A bit of FX risk for my business is preferable to clients simply deciding it's not worth the bother trading with us.

I hope it will be unnecessary, but on the upside, it's free banking indefinitely

[scott_e]

Ok I was mildly drunk but ...

Had a hospitality package at the Tattoo on Friday. Absolutely brilliant , was ten year wedding anniversary and RBS made a big deal about it which was super nice of them. Great evening out.

However 3 things really annoyed me:

1) Union Jack flys at the highest point over Edinburgh Castle. Ok officially its HRH military barracks (100 or so Dragoon staff IIRC) but still the Castle is a Scottish emblem and I honestly felt this was inappropriate.

2) Union flag was then projected over the castle at the end of the Tattoo ... same annoyance.

3) Audience asked to stand for God Save the Queen (which i didnt). We are in Scotland FFS , in a Scottish castle surrounded by Scottish history.

Interested to know your thoughts.

Scott

[Mikie711]

Well it is called the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo so perhaps the clue is in the title.

[Corranga]

Also Edinburgh is definitely on the U.K.all I see no problems with using the national flag, nor anthem.

Out of interest, in your opinion, which flag and anthem should be used at Buckingham Palace during, say, the changing of the guard?

[Corranga]

Actually, a bit of topic but since we're taking flags, I recently saw an article online taking about Indian congress were trying to prevent political parties using their tricolour in logos as most Indians associate it with national pride etc, which made me wonder about both sides of the independence referendum should be allowed to use it, and if altering the saltire to be their logo would once have been considered as disrespect to the country.

[Mikie711]

Just on a side note about currency. Everyone going on about the GBP but have you considered that the pound is actually a PITA everywhere except the UK. Everywhere I have been accepts either the dollar or the euro, most won't touch the pound and those that do give an exchange rate closer to the dollar rate. I'm talk joe blogs changing currency locally and not necessarily at a bank and not in a tourist resort either .
I work for a foreign company and am paid in USD as are just about everybody in O&G overseas, much more portable currency in fact I never leave home without some. Haven't taken GBP abroad in 3 years now. Might actually be better to ditch the pound and peg the currency to the dollar rate instead of sterling, which is to strong now anyway, though it has slipped a bit in the last week, for anyone exporting in must be a mare.

[Corranga]

Surely, in the event of independence, the issue with using anything other than the pound is in exports to the UK becoming more expensive
I gather that the majority of exports from Scotland would be to England, so the effect could be catastrophic if currency is changed, and whilst working relationships are set up with other countries which use the newly adopted currency.
Also, which countries have benefited from a currency change? Germany with the Euro, and more or less no one else - maybe other European countries that had very strong economies when the Euro was adopted?

Plus, there is more to currency than just the rate, where would Scotland borrow from, and what would our credit rating be?

Do we have whatever is needed to underwrite a currency? Where does money actually come from? If it's oil, then do we really want the countries future underpinned by a volatile (price wise) and reducing resource that seems somewhat against the green and carbon neutral policies that the entire world should be heading for..

I don't see how we could peg the new currency to the dollar rate either, surely if that was possible, the Bank of England would just peg the pound at Dollar + 1

Of course, I really don't know the answers to any of this, and Salmond did nothing to help any of us understand it through the debate, despite being asked numerous times. I guess he doesn't know either.

[Mikie711]

I don't see how we could peg the new currency to the dollar rate either, surely if that was possible, the Bank of England would just peg the pound at Dollar + 1

They did until 1971, the pound was pegged to the dollar rate using the Bretton Woods system and again in 1988 till 92 when it followed the Duetsche mark.

[Dominic]

Ok I was mildly drunk but ...

Had a hospitality package at the Tattoo on Friday. Absolutely brilliant , was ten year wedding anniversary and RBS made a big deal about it which was super nice of them. Great evening out.

However 3 things really annoyed me:

1) Union Jack flys at the highest point over Edinburgh Castle. Ok officially its HRH military barracks (100 or so Dragoon staff IIRC) but still the Castle is a Scottish emblem and I honestly felt this was inappropriate.

2) Union flag was then projected over the castle at the end of the Tattoo ... same annoyance.

3) Audience asked to stand for God Save the Queen (which i didnt). We are in Scotland FFS , in a Scottish castle surrounded by Scottish history.

Interested to know your thoughts.

Scott

Yes we are in Scotland, but we are also in the UK "FFS". ...(for just now at least)

I don't get offended seeing the Scottish flag when I'm in Glasgow, thinking "Where is the Glasgow flag FFS" - same thing surely???